Written by: Techub News Organized

Introduction

At a critical time when the global construction industry is transitioning to low-carbon and sustainable practices, the practical experiences of industry giants are particularly valuable. The High Point Podcast invited two experts from Skanska's U.S. division, a global leader in construction and development, in May 2025: Dean Lewis, Director of Mass Timber and Prefabrication, and Mark Chen, National Carbon Manager. In a lengthy conversation lasting approximately 69 minutes, they deeply explored the current applications, challenges, and future of mass timber in the U.S. market, sharing Skanska's strategic thinking on balancing construction costs, performance, acoustic design, embodied carbon accounting, and embracing new technologies such as artificial intelligence. This dialogue not only reveals the role of large contractors in driving industry change but also provides practical insights for architects, engineers, and developers.

Summary

• Mass timber is entering an acceleration phase: Since completing its first cross-laminated timber (CLT) project in 2016, Skanska has completed 22 projects in the U.S., totaling over 2 million square feet of mass timber work. New building codes now allow for the construction of wood structures up to 18 stories high.
• Sustainability drives design decisions: Embodied carbon accounting is becoming a clear demand from clients and part of design specifications. Mass timber shows advantages in terms of upfront embodied carbon compared to steel and concrete, but biological carbon accounting remains a complex issue.
• Early integration and cross-disciplinary coordination are essential: Whether it’s acoustic design, fire protection, or carbon management, the involvement of an expert team (including subcontractors) in the early stages of the project can prevent costly overruns and design rework later, which is key to project success and cost control.
• Innovative materials and tools are reshaping the industry: From more efficient timber systems (such as hollow-core slabs) and sustainable sourcing using disaster wood to tools for carbon data management like EC3 and AI-assisted data processing, technological innovations are addressing multiple challenges in sustainable construction.
• Circular economy and material reuse face real challenges: Although material recycling and reuse are environmentally and economically appealing, they encounter multiple practical barriers such as logistics, storage, re-certification, and design integration, requiring collaborative innovation across the entire industry chain.

Mass Timber: From Pioneer Practices to Mainstream Choice

Dean Lewis, as Director of Mass Timber and Prefabrication at Skanska USA, has experienced the transition of this technology in the U.S. from exploration to gradual maturity. He introduced that although Skanska originated as a concrete company, it has a strong foundation in wood applications, with decades of experience in Sweden. In the U.S., the company began venturing into timber construction in the early 21st century, completing its first cross-laminated timber (CLT) installation project in 2016. To date, Skanska has delivered 22 mass timber projects in the U.S., totaling over 2 million square feet.

In recent years, updates to U.S. building codes have cleared obstacles for the development of mass timber. The new codes allow the construction of wood structures up to 18 stories high, and in states like Oregon and Washington, the latest code cycle even allows up to 12-story buildings to be fully exposed wood structures (without needing gypsum board wraps for passive fire protection), which Dean Lewis considers a “game changer.” This not only reduces material usage and accelerates construction speed but also enhances the biological benefits of the buildings.

Regarding cost competitiveness, Dean Lewis noted that specific projects need to be analyzed individually. In high seismic areas like the U.S. West Coast, timber buildings have a natural advantage due to their lightweight properties, potentially offering advantages in foundations and lateral force systems compared to concrete or steel structures for mid-rise buildings between 12 to 18 stories high. He cited the Cincinnati Public Radio project, which is primarily constructed of wood, with only a small amount of steel used for stairs and elevator shafts, and the entire main structure was installed within weeks, showcasing extremely high construction efficiency.

Mark Chen added the value of wood structures from the perspective of carbon management. He pointed out that owners are increasingly focused on embodied carbon, which is starting to reflect in project specifications. Looking at the “upfront embodied carbon” from raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, to on-site installation, mass timber typically shows emission reduction benefits compared to steel or concrete. Additionally, the biological carbon absorbed and stored during the growth of wood is an important topic, although its accounting methods (involving end-of-life treatments like burning, which releases carbon back) are still subject to heated discussions within the industry. However, even without considering biological carbon, the carbon reduction potential of wood structures at the outset remains compelling enough.

Sustainability Challenges: Acoustics, Carbon Accounting, and Early Collaboration

Achieving sustainable construction is far more complicated than simply choosing wood structures; it involves a series of complex and interconnected challenges. Acoustic design is a typical example. Dean Lewis admitted that during the early promotion of wood structures in the U.S., acoustic performance was a significant challenge. Wood is lighter than traditional building materials, and people want to expose it, which leads to a lack of effective elastic sound barriers in floor assemblies, making it difficult to meet the required impact sound insulation ratings. Early projects attempted to use thin sound isolation pads, but the results were unsatisfactory. Today, thanks to extensive research and testing by organizations such as Woodworks, the Softwood Lumber Board, and FP Innovations, as well as suppliers and universities (like the University of Oregon), more high-performance acoustic solutions have emerged in the market, such as products that integrate acoustic performance directly into the bottoms of wooden floors.

Mark Chen emphasized that acoustic demands can sometimes directly conflict with sustainability goals. For example, in one project, the team wanted to use a lightweight gypsum board with lower embodied carbon, but its acoustic performance fell short, forcing the team to find a product that could meet both requirements. Such trade-offs are often discovered at the construction stage, making resolution particularly difficult. Therefore, both experts strongly recommend that acoustic consultants, carbon management experts, and other professionals be involved in the project from the earliest stages. Dean Lewis quoted a sharp perspective: “If you don’t do this, your project could ‘die’ because later costs will become too high.” He explained that early involvement, while requiring more consulting fees upfront, can avoid costly rework and changes later, saving costs over the entire lifecycle.

Regarding carbon management tools, Mark Chen highlighted the EC3 (Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator) tool co-developed by Skanska. This is a free, open-source online tool that integrates a large amount of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) data. It allows users to compare the embodied carbon performance of different manufacturers and products. Mark Chen likened it to a “carbon supermarket,” where EPDs serve as the “nutrition facts” for products. Through this tool, construction providers can make more informed choices while procuring and convey clear market signals regarding carbon performance to suppliers, thus promoting decarbonization across the entire industry chain. Additionally, policies have been enacted in places like California that require large public or commercial buildings to conduct lifecycle analyses or use low embodied carbon materials, making tools like EC3 indispensable.

Innovation Frontier: New Materials, AI, and Circular Economy

Faced with pressures on both cost and performance, the industry is actively exploring innovative timber systems that go beyond traditional CLT. Dean Lewis expressed interest in systems like hollow-core slabs (Cassette Floor) or stress skin panels. These systems use smaller timber components arranged more efficiently and can be filled with wood fiber insulation materials, allowing for greater carbon storage while also having potential in acoustics, spans, fire resistance, and seismic performance. He also noted that some companies are trying to use wood from natural disasters (like windstorms) or timber produced from municipal maintenance as raw materials, enhancing the sustainability of timber structures from the source.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also starting to find its place in the field of construction sustainability. Mark Chen revealed that they are exploring the use of AI to process large volumes of company carbon emissions report data, such as automatically identifying and summarizing fuel and power invoice information from various job sites across the nation, freeing people from tedious “grunt work.” Dean Lewis shared examples of Skanska internally using AI chatbots (such as those based on Microsoft Copilot) for knowledge management. Initially, when asking for “lessons learned from moisture control in mass timber,” AI could only provide vague responses. However, as project documents are continuously uploaded, one year later, when asked the same question, AI could offer ten detailed points including specific recommendations for sealants, temporary protective membranes, etc. This echoes a popular saying within Skanska: “I wish Skanska knew all that Skanska knows.” AI is becoming a key tool for mining and integrating the vast data and experiences within this multinational enterprise.

Regarding sustainable alternatives to concrete, Mark Chen pointed out that the core focus is on reducing the carbon footprint of cement production. There are many low-carbon cement substitutes available in the market, and more advanced innovations include using post-consumer recycled glass as a partial substitute for cement in concrete, addressing the glass recycling challenge while reducing the use of high-carbon materials. Additionally, research is underway to find natural materials outside limestone as new raw materials for cement.

In terms of circular economy and material reuse, opportunities and challenges coexist. Dean Lewis mentioned that designing for disassembly is key, as companies have already built removable wood structure demonstration buildings at conferences. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also funded related research proving that large engineered wood components can be reused in other buildings. Mark Chen added that the reuse of different materials each presents challenges, but the logic is consistent: materials need to be dismantled and recycled in a cost-effective and non-destructive manner, and the storage and logistics issues before reuse after recycling must be addressed, while coordinating with design teams to determine how these old materials will fit into new designs. While pure recycling (such as for steel) can sometimes be more economical than landfilling due to high commodity value, the cost of “deconstruction” aimed at reusing materials as is remains high and requires further breakthroughs in technology and business models.

Conclusion: Systemic Thinking and Continuous Evolution

Through conversations with Dean Lewis and Mark Chen, it becomes clear that the success of modern sustainable construction no longer relies on a single technology or material but requires a systemic approach and highly integrated collaborative model. From the structural optimization of mass timber to the delicate balance of acoustics, fire protection, and carbon management, to making intelligent decisions using AI and data tools, as well as exploring new pathways for material circulation, every aspect influences the others.

As a vertically integrated giant with roles as a developer, contractor, and self-performing constructor, Skanska's experiences indicate that early intervention, interdisciplinary collaboration, and embracing continuous technological innovation are core to addressing the complex challenges of sustainable development in the construction industry. Although there are still barriers in costs, regulations, supply chains, and knowledge transfer, the market demand for low-carbon buildings, policy drives, and the emergence of continuous solutions are collectively pushing the entire industry towards a more efficient and environmentally friendly future. For all industry participants, maintaining learning, open collaboration, and actively applying new tools will be the essential path to this future.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。